Session 1 of this AI in M&A course is led by a trainer pursuing a PhD in Machine Learning at the Gatsby Unit of University College London (UCL). His research primarily revolves around developing novel machine learning algorithms with greater efficiency and robustness guarantees. His work has been previously published and selected for presentation at the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics (AISTATS). The Gatsby Unit has produced ground-breaking AI research since its inception in 1998. Its alumni include two 2024 Nobel Prize winners in Physics and Chemistry and the co-founders of DeepMind - one of the world's leading AI research labs.
This trainer also has over 5 years of commercial experience applying advanced AI techniques during his previous role as an econometrician/data scientist at PwC. His previous projects included:
- Using machine learning to estimate the growth impact of SME lending for a leading retail bank
- Developing PwC’s AI Nowcasting Model for accurate UK GDP predictions
- Causal machine learning to estimate the effectiveness of marketing activities for a global airline
- Econometric methods to analyse the effect of CEO contract incentives on share buybacks for the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Academically, he has achieved distinctions in two master's degrees from UCL - an MSc in Computational Statistics and Machine Learning in 2021 (Dean’s List) and an MSc in Economics in 2016.
Sessions 2 – 4 are led by a consultant, public speaker, and author with over 45 years of experience in private equity, debt advisory, restructuring, and infrastructure. He is a Senior Advisor to KPMG Finland and a Senior Consultant to Grant Thornton UK.
The consultant provides training programmes to a wide range of blue-chip clients in Europe, Africa, the Middle and Far East, North America, Asia-Pacific and China. In-house clients include banks (BNP Paribas, Société Générale, ING, Barclays Capital, Bank of China, RBS, SEB); lawyers (Kirkland and Ellis, Baker & McKenzie, Skadden Arps, Sullivan & Cromwell, Cadwalader, Latham & Watkins, Weil, White & Case); advisory firms (Lazard, PWC, M&A International, KPMG, EY USA, Deloitte); PE firms (Cinven, Advent, Barings Asia, Waterland, AVCAL); corporates (Siemens, Airbus, Turkcell, Candy Crush, Diageo, Statkraft) and governmental bodies (the UKLA, the EBRD, the EIB, the ECGD, Omani Oil Corp.)
He qualified in South Africa both as a Chartered Accountant - with Deloitte and as a lawyer with Hofmeyr - where he was involved in structuring several high-profile project financings including BMW 3 Series, Ford Sierra and GM.
After moving to London, he built an extensive career in corporate finance, serving as a corporate finance executive at Lazard Brothers, an assistant director at Hoare Govett advising listed companies and later joining ABN Amro's cross-border M&A team before becoming a Director in Cross-Border M&A at MeesPierson Corporate Finance. Separately, he has served as a member of the EU-PHARE programme and advised the Estonian government on its privatisation programme.
For 18 years he served as the Programme Director at the City Business School, London, for Infrastructure Finance for the M.Sc. programme in Business Administration and Finance. He has since stepped back from this role to focus on select advisory and consulting engagements.
He also served for approximately 10 years as an advisor to DebtXplain (subsequently acquired by Reorg and now Octus), bringing his extensive knowledge in debt markets and financial restructuring to the organisation before recently transitioning away from this role.
He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.